Returning the thank you

September 9 Affirmation - My heart is filled with gratitude, knowing there is always more coming my way.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more." ~Melody Beattie

"Life has enough of everything to spare." ~Ernest Holmes

Rev. Norm wrote "The fact is, it doesn't make any difference to God whether you give thanks or not, but it makes a lot of difference to you...gratitude is not for God. Giving thanks is an important state of your consciousness that keeps you in an awareness of oneness with the divine flow. The grateful heart actually opens the way to the flow and becomes an attractive force to draw even greater things to itself."

This morning I sat for 10 minutes in the quiet, and simply started scrolling through my mind of all the things I am grateful for. I found myself land on the "easy" gratitudes, my parents, my fiancée, the food in my fridge, my job, my co-workers, those I manage and support with my work, friends, teachers, leaders et cetera...and then I found myself turning to the areas, people and organizations that I find personally challenging...I didn't necessarily know why or what I was grateful for initially, but I just kept going. "I am grateful for XXX, I am grateful for YYY" and things softened inside me. I didn't hold them so tightly, I didn't hold myself so tightly. I actually in that loosening and space received some guidance from within on some words I could share to foster connection again with a colleague where there has been some challenge. Gratitude as Melody Beattie wrote, unlocks the fullness of life. Even in the midst of an area of challenge for me, in the process of saying thank you and I am grateful, something opened up.

Let us follow the words of Meister Eckhart (a medieval monk) today. "If the only prayer you say in your entire life (today) is thank you, it will be enough."

Let us thank ALL of life today and open ourselves to a life that thrives!

Day 31 - December Meditations - Vision

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. ~Proverbs 29:18, Hebrew Scriptures

Affirmation: Today I keep my highest vision, my highest possibility fresh before me.  I welcome its guidance into possibilities beyond my knowing.

What is your highest vision for 2015?  What must you embrace and release to support it?  Are there any specific actions to take right now?

Explore the answer to these questions in todays meditation.  Download it here!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Keep fresh before me the moments of my high resolve.

Despite the dullness and barrenness of the days that pass, if I search with due diligence, I can always find a deposit left by some former radiance. But I had forgotten. At the time it was full-orbed, glorious, and resplendent. I was sure that I would never forget. In the moment of its fullness, I was sure that it would illumine my path for all the rest of my journey. I had forgotten how easy it is to forget.

There was no intent to betray what seemed so sure at the time. My response was whole, clean, authentic. But little by little, there crept into my life the dust and grit of the journey. Details, lower-level demands, all kinds of cross currents -- nothing momentous, nothing overwhelming, nothing flagrant -- just wear and tear. If there had been some direct challenge --a clear-cut issue -- I would have fought it to the end, and beyond.

In the quietness of this place, surrounded by the all-pervading Presence of God, my heart whispers: Keep fresh before me the moments of my High Resolve, that in fair weather or in foul, in good times or in tempests, in the days when the darkness and the foe are nameless or familiar, I may not forget that to which my life is committed.

Keep fresh before me the moments of my high resolve.
 

For The Inward Journey
by Howard Thurman 

December 29 - December Meditations - Vision

"In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision." ~ Dalai Lama

This morning contemplating the end of the year and what hopes, dreams & vision I have for myself next year, I realized I need to sift through some other things to get to the heart of the matter.  There are a lot of things I think I "SHOULD" do next year, and those things aren't bad, however, "shoulds" often carry with them some baggage and condemning energy.  I am interested in what is deeper than the shoulds.  

An example, "In 2015 I should lose 30 pounds."  Losing 30 pounds would be great for me, however in stead of of bringing "shoulding" energy (which often has lots of shame attached to it), what if the phrase or vision deeper than I should lose 30 pounds was..."2015 is a year of freedom and health in my body.  I celebrate exercise, dancing and flexibility in my body."  That actually gets me excited and ignites something within me to move towards that intention.

A visioning statement or phrase, ideally excites us.  We may not know how to bring everything to pass, however, stating the statement can activate possibility.

Lets start tapping into the vision for our lives in 2015.  Join me for a few minutes of visioning.  

Download today's visioning #meditation here.

Affirmation:  The vision for my life, opens my heart, mind and choosing to new possibilities...today! 

Day 28 - December Meditations - Meaning

What shall our lives mean?

Today I am giving a talk on the meaning we give to our lives or more importantly the meaning we bring to our living.  This is not a singular one time answer, rather something we must listen for and practice on a daily basis.

Download this meditation and move into the stillness listening for the answers to the question...What shall our lives mean?

Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it. ~ Ernest Holmes

Affirmation:  I give my life meaning.  

I choose from the meaning I give my life.  

My life is a reflection of my powerful choice.

Day 24 - December Meditations - Excitement

"Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities.  Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning." ~ Gloria Steinem

I woke up this morning getting ready to go visit family and sensed a familiar yet distant energy.  It was the excitement energy of my childhood around the holidays.  This is something that feels so good and energizes me.  It gave me pause to realize that this energy doesn't need to be distant or reserved for one time a year, this excitement can be cultivated into my daily living and practice.  

So let us begin today by diving deep into a meditation of excitement!  Click here to download.

Affirmation:  Today I welcome the excitement of my inner-child to dream and wonder of the possibility that is my life.

Day 14 - December Meditations - The Light of Love

Love is the willingness to accept and embrace another or ourselves beyond a specific action or word even.  In the Christian tradition, today is the third Sunday of Advent, the holy time leading up to the celebration of Jesus' birth.  Every Sunday during Advent a candle is lit, remembering a specific quality of the spirit of Jesus and God, today's candle is love.

Let us be willing to embrace ourselves or another in meditation, regardless of what happened or didn't happen.  "Hate the sin an not the sinner:" Ghandi wrote in his auto-biography.  Lets put our attention on simply loving the sinner or the one who made a mistake.  Whether that person be yourself or another, simply move your attention to the light of love they  are and love that light.

Click here to download todays' brief guided meditation.

Affirmation: Today I love the light of love in all life, no strings attached.

Day 4 - December Meditations - Hope, Expectancy & Possibility

Hope, expectancy &  possibility are not waiting for anything to happen around you.  They are simply waiting for you to welcome them into you.  Into your mind, heart, soul, job, work, health, relationships and even your finances!  Let us welcome hope, expectancy & possibility into our living today.  Here is a meditation to get that started.

Affirmation:  I am a living expression of possibility.  I am the hope I seek.  Today, I expect good beyond my understanding.

"There is a power for good in the universe available to anyone and you can use this power for good in your life." ~Ernest Holmes